Theyskens' Theory / Fall 2012 RTW

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Let there be light. Save for a few bright spots in the New York schedule, it’s been a dark couple of days—we’re talking in color only. So who would have bet on Olivier Theyskens, whose collection for Theory has become synonymous with cool, shadowy, urban clothes, as the man to bring us out of black? Well, he did. In a way.

There was an added lightness to his fall collection that served as a reminder that not only can he cut a killer blazer, fantastic T-shirt, and perfect, slouchy cords, but he can do refinement in a very skilled way that still manages to feel and look completely natural on a young woman. Not many other designers can fuse Lower East Side with ladylike as effortlessly and beautifully.

For seasons, he’s been working the long, lean figure and there was plenty of that for fall. Stretched-out chunky sweaters paired with black leather shorts and skinny gray pants tucked into some serious heeled boots gave off a relaxed city vibe. It was simply more of the great stuff Theyskens has been doing. The gateway piece, it could be said, to a more couture-influenced silhouette was the swing skirt—an unfamiliar, full, feminine shape in very familiar black leather. From there, Theyksens ventured into veritable cocktail-dress territory, albeit with evening coats and sheaths that looked like they’d been through the wringer. They weren’t super deconstructed, they just looked like someone had taken a hammer to them. (They appeared to be satin but were in fact a stiff polyester.) “I wanted to complete the TT wardrobe with pieces that felt more luxurious,” Theyskens said after the show. “What I’m doing now references what I was doing before.” Over the years, Theyskens has proven incredibly capable in this high drama realm, and now we can see that he also knows how to bring it down to earth. This was most evident in the closing look, a wrinkled, midnight-blue evening dress with an exaggerated ball skirt. Dramatic, but it felt like just the thing these kinds of girls would want to wear for major black tie. “I imagine this girl borrowing from her grandma,” Theyskens continued. “I think a lot of cool young people like to pick up things from the past and revamp them in a cool way.” Perhaps they like it even more when he does it for them.